Kagawa, 21, sustained a fractured metatarsal during Japan's Asian Cup semi-final victory over South Korea, and flew back to Germany ahead of Saturday's final against Australia in Qatar.

After undergoing examination at the BG Unfallklinik hospital in Duisburg, Dortmund have now confirmed they will lose Kagawa's services for the rest of the campaign.

"There are various degrees of this injury," Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp said, "but I don't know of any case where it took less than three months. That means the end of the season comes too soon for him, but it also means that we now have the time to find an absolutely perfect solution for Shinji."

Kagawa joined Dortmund from Cerezo Osaka in the summer and has been a huge success, scoring eight goals in 17 games for the club that sits 11 points clear at the top of the table.

He said of his injury: "It hasn't really sunk in yet, it'll take me some time. Now I need to try and get back to playing as quickly as I can.

"I have already had an injury in the same place in 2009 and that was sorted out in a month, but I haven't felt as bad as now. We have a good team despite our youth and I have a good feeling that we will win the title."